I tried that and chainsaw bar oil. The bar oil was much better- quieter and longer lasting YMMVI lube my chains* in a bag of 75w90 gear oil or similar overnight.
Does it help any? or hurt any? who knows.
*Chainsaws.. bikes same thing right?
Lube new chain before using?
- Thread starter zzyzzx
- Start date
I was meaning to update this as I did a ride yesterday and yes some motor oil to lube the lower jockey wheel seems to have fixed it.
I also got my first flat tire of the season.
Every 9-12 speed chain I've installed has anti-corrosion coating on it. Sticky all over the chain. It seems to make a good starting lube so I clean the outside of the chain with degreasing cleaner to keep dirt from sticking, then run them for a couple of rides until it gets soaked or otherwise needs a lube update. If your previous chain has aged and stretched, it will run noisy on worn cassette sprockets or chainrings. I If the chain has stretched more than 3/16th of an inch over 12" of links, I replace the cassette at the same time. Otherwise things skip under torque. Chainrings last a few chains, but eventually need replacing as well.
I remember using Pedro's Synlube in the early 90s. Heard someone claim it was just repackaged Mobil 1. It was like 1 oz, and it has this recommendation to drip on, then let it work into the chain for some "maximum synthetic bonding" or something to that effect. Now it seems like mystical mumbo jumbo than anything else.
If you check the chain more often and replace it when it stretches 1/16 inch over 12 inches (about 0.5%), the cassette & chainrings last much longer. Chains are cheaper than cassettes and chainrings.
+1 to that!
I've been using chainsaw bar oil on my bike chains for over 20 years. Why so long? Because it's the best chain lube I've ever used. Years ago I worked in a bike shop and have tried just about everything else. And, chainsaw bar oil costs $10-$20 per gallon, way cheaper than anything sold as "bicycle chain lube".
That 3/16" over 12" is ALOT. Could maybe jump off a sprocket/ring and dump you on ground, IMO. Stay safe.
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I find that I tend to replace when the rollers are good and loose. Just seems like it's worn out, despite perhaps being ok on stretch.
I suspect I'm not changing chain rings often enough, twice the diam so they should last at least twice as long as a cassette--but that doesn't mean forever, since I do 90% of my riding in the middle ring, that one ring is taking a lot more wear than I think it is.
I suspect I'm not changing chain rings often enough, twice the diam so they should last at least twice as long as a cassette--but that doesn't mean forever, since I do 90% of my riding in the middle ring, that one ring is taking a lot more wear than I think it is.
All else equal, it's correct that wear relates to the tooth count. Yet all else is not equal. Cassette sprockets are usually made of steel, while front chainrings are aluminum which is much softer and wears faster.
Agree that aluminum wears faster than steel, but empirical evidence shows that cassettes wear out much faster than crank chainrings.
This depends on the cassette and the chainring. My MTB is the opposite - the cassette (10-42) lasts about 3x as long as the front chainring (30).
Chainrungs last WAY longer than cassettes and chains. 1x stuff is a little worse than 2x or 3x. I can probably count on one hand the chainrings I've worn out in 35 years on multiple bikes and thousands upon thousands of miles both on and off road. My current mtb (Niner) with Sram Eagle XO1 1x12 has ~4K miles on the original cassette and chaining. I'm on chain #3.
I got a chain stretch tool checker and compared the new chain to the old one:
New chain (it won't go in at all):
Old chain (it goes right in with room to spare):
So I really can't tell how much it's stretched since the chain stretched beyond the ability for the tool to measure.
New chain (it won't go in at all):
Old chain (it goes right in with room to spare):
So I really can't tell how much it's stretched since the chain stretched beyond the ability for the tool to measure.
My chain stretch test tool looks like this:
Standard bike chains have 1/2 inch pitch. When the chain is new the pins line up exactly on the inch marks. When the "stretch" or total misalignment is 1/16" over 12 inches, the chain has stretched 0.5% and should be replaced. That means the first pin is perfectly centered on the inch mark at 0, and 24th pin away is shifted or stretched 1/16" past the 12" mark.
Standard bike chains have 1/2 inch pitch. When the chain is new the pins line up exactly on the inch marks. When the "stretch" or total misalignment is 1/16" over 12 inches, the chain has stretched 0.5% and should be replaced. That means the first pin is perfectly centered on the inch mark at 0, and 24th pin away is shifted or stretched 1/16" past the 12" mark.
that 0.05% applies to chains greater than 9 speed. For 9 and less- it's 0.075%. Don't think new bikes even come with 9 speed gear anymore, but.. alot still around. Using the ruler is a bit of a pain on an installed chain. That chain tool sure makes it easy and quick
1/16" over 12" inches is 0.5%, not .05%, or put differently, a ratio of 0.005 to 1. For 9-speed and less do you mean 0.75%? I've always used half a percent as the wear threshold even back to the old days of 5-speed cassettes. That said, I don't think it makes much difference since these wear limits involve at least some amount of subjective preference.
The point is to replace the chain before it begins to accelerate wear on the rest of the drivetrain. Yet all the parts of the drivetrain are consumables that are always wearing even new. Do you want to replace the chain at 0.75% instead of 0.5%? If so you'll buy chains less often but your cassette or chainring might only last 3 chains instead of 4. There's nothing "wrong" with either choice.
